Means for electrically connecting railway-cars.



No. 688,337. Patentedl Dec. lo, ism. E. s. w. Hamm-1|..

MEANS FOR ELE-CTRICALLY GONNEGTING RAILWAY GARS.

' [Application med Feb. .19, 1900. v -(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

Patented Dec. I0, |901.

E. B. W.4 REICHEL. MEANS FOR ELECTRIGALLY CONNECTING RAILWAY GARS.

(Applicltion led Feb. 19, 1900.)

. v3 Sheets-Shut 2.

(llo Model.)

Qwmn A Patented Dec. I0, |90|. E. B. W. REICHEL. v MEANS FDRELECTRIUAL'LY GUNNECTING RAILWY GARS.

(Application led Feb. 19, 1900.)

3 Sheets-Shoot 3.

(llo Modem,

Tn: Noam; Pzrzns cq.. PHOTO-uma.. wAsmNaTuN, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL BERTHOLD WALTER REICHEL, OF BERLIN, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO SIEMENS &HALSKE ELECTRIC COMPANY OF AMERICA, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATIONOF ILLINOIS.

MEANS FOR ELECTRICALLY CONNECTING RAlLWA-Y-CAR'S.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Bai-.ent No. 688,337, datedDecember 10, 1901 Application filed February 19,1900. Serial No. 5,790.(No model.)

To au whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that l, EMIL BERTHOLD WAL- TER REICHEL, a subject of theGerman Emperor, residing at Markgrafenstrasse 94, Berlin, in the Empireof Germany, have invented .a certain new and useful Improvement in Meansfor Electrically Connecting Railway- Cars, (Case No. 334,)v of which thefollowing is a full, clear, concise, and exact description,`

1o reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part ofthis specification.

My invention relates to electric railways, and more particularly to thatclass of electric railways in which current for driving elec- I5 tricmotors is conducted along several cars of a train, and has for itsparticular object the provision of an improved form of electric couplingfor electrically uniting circuits upon adjacent cars.

Electric car-couplings as at present constructed require a great 'amountof attention and care and do not provide an efficient coupling under allconditions of service, the jars and vibrations of the cars beingoccasionally z5 sufficient to cause a rupture of the contact between thecouplings. A good contact is therefore not secured at all times; and itis the prime object of my invention so to construct electrical couplingsthat there will be 3o uniform good contact between themv at all times,independent of the relative movement between the cars, and which areinsensible to train vibrations and other exacting conditions of service.

My invention also provides means whereby the couplings may beconstructed in a very simple manner,so thatthe time spent in couplinganduncoupling is reduced to a minimum, the uncoupling being preferablyin all 4o cases done automatically.

Generally speaking, my invention consists in providing twocontact-pieces, one upon each en d of a car, which are preferablyrotatably mounted about horizontal axles placed transverse to thedirection of travel of the cars, these contact-pieces upon couplingassuming positions one about the other,thereby providing a goodelectrical connection which may be retained under all conditions ofserv- 5o ice, inasmuch as I preferably7 construct the contact pieces ofsufficient weight to produce considerable friction between the two. Ialso preferably make the height of these contact- -by reference to theaccompanying drawings,

illustrating the preferred embodiments there- 6o of, in which- Figurelis aside View of my improved coupling, the car ends being indicateddiagrammatically. Fig. 2 is a side View of one-half of the coupling inposition for being coupled. Fig. 3 is a top View of my improvedcoupling. Fig. 4 shows another embodiment of my invention, one-half of acoupling being shown inY its normal position. Fig. 5 is a side view ofthe same, two couplings being shown in engagement. Fig.,6 is a top viewof the coupling shown in Fig. 5. Figs. 7 and 8 are side and top views,respectively, of another embodiment of my invention.

Like parts are indicatedby similar characters of reference throughoutthe figures.

Referring now-'particularly to Figs. l, 2,3, and 4, I have shown twoadjacent cars l and 2 as being supplied with my improved coupling,bumpers 3 Sbeing indicated diagrammatically. I preferably provide one ormore contact-shoes 4 at the ends of each car, these contact-shoes beingpreferably wedge-shaped at their ends and provided with a projection Y j5 on the upper portion thereof.' I preferably 85 rotatably mount thesecontact-shoes about a horizontal shaft 6, placed, preferably,transversely to the direction of travel of the train, brackets 7 7,mounted at the ends of the cars l and 2, being employed for supportingthe said shaft. I'also preferably rotatably mount EMU-shaped frame 8upon the shaft 6, the said frame being rigidly fastened to a handle 9,disposed angularly thereto. I preferably interpose insulators l0 uponthe frame 7, so that there is no electrical connection between the shaft6 and the car-body, the said insulators being provided with a lateralextension ll, against which the handle 9 is adapted to rest when in itsnormal position.

In this po- 10o sition the shoes 4 are prevented from rotating below agiven distance, inasmuch as their free ends are supported by the frame8, thereby holding them in positions ready for coupling.

contact-shoes and not to unnecessarily increase the weight thereof, Ipreferably make them hollow. I preferably use more than one contact-shoeupon the end of each car, so that a break in the contact which mightaccidentally occur between two contact-shoes will not cause a rupture ofthe whole circuit, inasmuch as the remaining contact-shoes would remainin electrical connection. I preferably construct these shoes in the formof a wedge, so that they may couple automatically; but I have providedthe handle 9, so that one set of the contact-shoes may be preferablyraised in the position shown in Fig. 2 when ready for coupling. It willbe seen that good electrical contact may be readily maintained betweenthe contact-shoes, inasmuch as the weight thereof is sulicientto createa frieiional engagement between them irrespective of the jars andvibrations of the adjacent cars of the train. The closer the center ofgravity of the contact-shoes to the line of contact the better will bethe electrical connection between them. Circuit connection isestablished bctween terminals ofthe main circuit 12 12 and the shaft 6in anysuitable manner.

In Figs. 4 to 6 I have shown an embodiment of my invention in which Ipreferably reinforce gravity by means of springs 13 13, which arepreferably placed .inside the hollow contact-shoes 4 and which arerigidly mounted upon the insulating-frame 7. I preferably so adjust thesprings that the contact-shoes occupy normally a horizontal position,heilig capable of a movement in both directions thereof, the movement inthe downward direction being limited by a projection 14 upon the lowersurface of the contact-shoe, which engages a corresponding projection 15upon the insulating-bracket 7. The springs 13 are preferably reinforcedby auxiliary springs 16 16, which are brought into action when the twoportions of the coupling are in contact. As will be evident from thegure, both contact-shoes are displaced when coupled, a double springactuating each one to press against the opposite shoe.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I have shown another embodiment of my invention inwhich gravity is reinforced by magnetic attraction. In this embodiment Ipreferably construct the contact-shoes t as a U-shaped body, about thecentral portion of which I preferably dispose an energizing-coil 1 7,which may be supplied with current in any suitable manner either inseries or in shunt of the main circuit, the contact-shoe upon one carthen furnishing a return path for magnetism of the contact- In order toobtainthe desired height of the shoe of the other car when inengagement. Auxiliary meansare provided whereby one coil is preferablymade inactive upon coupling, as the energization of both coils wouldcause a neutralization of the lines of force through the contact-shoes.

IVhile I have shown and described my electric coupling in connectionwith electric railways, I do not wish to be limited to its use in thatparticular branch in the art.

While I have herein shown and particularly described preferredembodiments of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to the preciseconstructions and arrangements shown, as modifications thereof mayreadily be made by those skilled in the art without departing from thespirit thereof, and

I therefore claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, thefollowing:

1. Means for electrically connecting railway-cars, comprising a coupleof swinging members, one for each car, rests upon which said members canbe supported, said membersbeing adapted to come into contact with oneanother, and one of the same being adapted to slide above the other, thelatter resting upon its rest and the upper one tending to descend andthereby to exert a pressure between the two members, substantially,7 asset forth.

2. The combination with the railway-cars, of buffers therefor, and meansfor electrically connecting the cars, comprising a couple of swingingmembers,one foreach car, said members being adapted to come into contactwith one another when the cars come together, supports for said swingingmembers adapted to permit the members to move, the members beingarranged thereupon so as to tend to restore themselves to their originalpositions, whereby good cont-act will be retained and the members beingalso arranged so as to come into contact with one another when thebuffers of the car meet,substantially as described.

3. The combination witha pair of connecting members, of means forsupporting the same so as to permit their slight displacement uponcoming together,and differential springs provided for said members, saidsprings being arranged to act with greater force as the displacement ofthe members increases.

.t. The combination with a pair of connecting members, of means forsupporting the same so as to permit their slight displacement uponcoming together, and springs 13, 13 and 1G, 16 arranged within saidmembers and connected with the supporting means therefor, substantiallyas described.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 26th day ofJanuary, A. D. 1900.

EMIL BERTHOLD WALTER REICHEL.

Witnesses:

HENRY HAsPER, WOLDEMAR HAUPT.

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